


Blood, bruises, boyfriends

by saltandpepur



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Abandonment, Bad sad FP, Blood, Getting Together, Ghoulies, Hurt Jughead, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Neglect, Not Betty friendly, Poor Jughead, Violence, southside serpents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 06:40:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16321067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltandpepur/pseuds/saltandpepur
Summary: “How did you even get this address?” Sweet Pea asked.Betty raised her head. “Connections. I asked around.”“Well now you know that I’m not killing Jughead, can you leave?” Sweet Pea asked, scowling.





	Blood, bruises, boyfriends

Panic began to simmer under the surface of his emotions as Jughead heard the slam of a door from elsewhere in the school. Perhaps someone was sleeping here, like he did in Riverdale High? Someone could just have easily broken in to shelter from the currently pouring rain. Jughead walked briskly away from the noise to the door, desperate to get out and go home before anything could happen.

When he reached the door, it was chained shut.

“Fuck!” Jughead exclaimed, hitting the door, trying desperately to open it. This was bad. Oh, God, this was bad. Someone had locked him in the school with someone else who was getting closer and closer. The panic was no longer simmering but boiling over in an intense rage, overwhelming him. In an act of desperation he slammed his shoulder against the door, succeeding only in obtaining a grunt of pain and a bruised arm. 

The footsteps and bangs against metal were getting louder and louder, the probable assailants closing in on Jughead as he was trapped in a dead end. Jughead turned back towards the hallway, eyes searching rapidly for a way out. A series of shadows approached around the corner, a group of about 5. Jughead was frozen solid, heart beating wildly his chest as the shadows finally rounded the corner to reveal...

A group of five Ghoulies.

And suddenly, Jughead regretted ever provoking them.

The first punch knocked him on his back, pain blooming across the right side of his face. The kicks came next, harsh and bruising at his sides, his legs, his head. His skin felt damp, slick with blood and tender with purple and red marks. Damp tracks slipped down his face, salty and bitter. He was crying, Jughead realised distantly. 

The Ghoulies above him were laughing and shouting, relishing in his cries of pain and the blood spilt on the floor. There was a moment of relief and Jughead distantly heard the clang of chains hitting the floor, the bang of the doors being opened, and then there was only fizzy static and blissful, blissful silence.

-

Sweet Pea was irritated. No, he was annoyed. They’d caught wind of a group of Ghoulies leaving Southside High, and Jughead was nowhere to be found. Given his history of attracting trouble from every possibly place and person, the likelihood of him being beaten up or worse by the Ghoulies was...more than likely.

Sweet Pea strode towards the building, his serpent jacket glinting in the poor street lights. The side door to Southside High was wide open, an ominous air surrounding it. Sweet Pea made his way to the door, concerned.

Jughead lay just inside the doorway, passed out. Every available inch of skin was covered in bruises of varying shades, cuts scattered in his face, a pool of dry and yet large blood beneath him. His serpent jacket was untouched, simply coated in a layer of still-fresh blood. 

Sweet Pea dropped to one knee before him, turning Jughead’s head slightly with his hand. He flopped limply away from him. Sweet Pea ran his hands over his face for a few moments before he lifted him bridal style.

Face stony, he left the building with his fellow serpent in his arms, blood still sleeping from some open wounds onto his hands, his jacket. Jughead was small in his arms, broken like a rag doll. The Ghoulies would pay, he’d make sure of that.

-

Toni lay sprawled over a seat in the Jones trailer, Fangs and Hot Dog on the floor beside her. Sweet Pea had gone on a Jughead Jones hunting trip because he was “irritated” that he hadn’t shown up (personally, Toni thought it was because he was worried).

“So, do you think Jughead and Sweet Pea are making out against a wall yet?” Toni asked conversationally. Fangs snorted beside her.

“As if. Sweet Pea is a wimp.”

“Aren’t you rig-“ Toni began, about to take a sip of her drink when the door burst open.

Sweet Pea stood in the doorway, fury pasted on his face, blood on his clothes and a half-dead Jughead Jones in his arms.

“Oh my God!” Toni exclaimed, standing up.

Sweet Pea lay him down on the couch with uncharacteristic gentleness, gently stroking a hand over his hair. In the artificial light of the trailer, Jughead’s cuts and bruises were even worse than before. Sweet pea sat carefully beside him, trying to gently wake him up. Toni had never seen Sweet Pea act so gentle, despite the name. 

She and Fangs snapped to attention when they heard a gentle groan. Jughead was waking up, closing his eyes against the harsh, bright light. Sweet Pea instantly began to ask how he was, checking over his available skin carefully.

“Who did this?” He asked, voice dangerous.

“Some Ghoulies. Five of them,” Jughead responded, attempting to stay as still as possible to kill the pain. Sweet Pea clenched his fists, fingers aching to retrieve his switchblade from his pocket. He wanted to paint it in their blood, to be covered in their blood, to relish in the violence. Having Jughead’s blood on his body made him feel ill in a way he didn’t understand. He would get revenge, but Jughead came first.

“How bad is it?” Sweet Pea asked. Toni grimaced and looked him over. 

“I think we need to get FP.”

Sweet Pea stood up. “I’ll do it.” He looked at Jughead for a long moment before he turned away, certain he would cry or do something equally emotional if he kept looking at Jughead’s broken body. He strode out of the trailer and made his way to the Whyte Wyrm, where FP would be busy getting drunk.

The doors opened with a loud bang, attracting the attention of everyone present. Sweet Pea himself was a sight: tall and blood covered, his face dark and stormy. Sweet Pea walked over to FP and the other bar patrons made no attempt to disguise their eavesdropping.

“5 Ghoulies got the jump on Jughead. He’s at your trailer, and it’s bad, so get your ass up.” Sweet Pea crossed his arms and stared at the obviously tipsy FP.

“Why can he not keep himself out of trouble?” FP grumbled, nursing his glass of whiskey. Sweet Pea glowered beside him, waiting for him to get up but with no avail.

“What kind of leader doesn’t even care for his own son?” Sweet Pea seethed before turning on his heel to leave.

“He’s the one who disowned me, pal,” FP slurred. Sweet Pea stopped in his tracks, fists clenched. A moment of deliberation occurred before he span and punched FP right across the jaw.

-

Jughead awoke with a groan and an aching body. Sharp flashes of pain ran through his body, white hot. He tried to move but his limbs hurt too much, his head was pounding. 

“-ghead? Jughead?” A voice became clearer from above him. Jughead pried open his eyes  
and squinted against the light. Immediately, the room became darker and a tall shape hovered above him. “Are you okay?”

It was Sweet Pea’s voice. Jughead would recognise it anywhere. 

He opened his eyes clearly and blinked away the blurriness. Despite his aching body he focused his attention on Sweet Pea. “What - what happened?”

Sweet Pea turned his head, expression morphing into a form of a grimace and sigh. 

“Sweet Pea went on a rescue mission after he heard the Ghoulies were back in town,” a voice called from the other side of him. Toni. Jughead hasn’t even realised there was anyone else present. Fangs came into view, too, concerned. A stutter of feet sounded from elsewhere and Jughead realised that Hot Dog was there too. 

“I heard that the Ghoulies were back and I knew you were at Southside alone. You’re not exactly one to avoid danger, are you?” Sweet Pea scoffed. “So, yeah, I went to look for you.”

Jughead was silent for a moment, before smiling. A flash of pain shot through his head at even the smallest action. 

“Hey, hey. Stay still.” Toni pushed him to lie back down when he attempted to sit up. Sweet Pea reached out a hand to help and that’s when Jughead noticed his bruised knuckles that he knew weren’t there before. He’d studied every available inch of Sweet Pea’s skin. He’d know if they were there before. 

“What happened to your hand?” He asked.

Sweet Pea didn’t freeze, but he did still momentarily. He hesitated in his answer, as if trying to decide whether or not to speak.

“Sweet Pea...”

“Okay, okay. You’re not gonna want to hear it, though.” Sweet Pea settled on the couch beside Jughead’s legs, resting his hands on his ankles. Jughead lifted his head enough to see Sweet Pea as he told his story. 

“After I got you back here, I went to the Whyte Wyrm to find FP. Thought I’d let him know his son had been beaten up. Well, he didn’t care. We got into an...altercation.”

“You punched my dad,” Jughead stated blankly. His face was devoid of emotion. 

“Yeah. I won’t say sorry. He had it coming.” Sweet Pea turned to look at Jughead. “You’re my leader. My friend. My- he was disrespecting you.” 

“The serpents won’t be happy with you.” 

“Fuck the serpents.” Sweet Pea flashed a quick smile at Jughead. 

“This boy walked in here carrying you bridal style,” Toni teased playfully. “Like a damsel in distress.” Toni dramatically fell backwards, holding her hand to her forehead in a crude imitation of someone in trouble. 

Jughead zoned out slowly as Fangs, Toni and Sweet Pea laughed. He tried to sequence the evening’s events in his head. The Ghoulies has attacked him at Southside High. Sweet Pea had been concerned for him and had searched for him, finding him beaten up. Sweet Pea brought him back to the trailer where Toni and Fangs watched him while he went to tell FP. FP didn’t care and Sweet Pea punched him.

FP didn’t care. Did that mean he would have to move out? Be homeless again? He’d gotten used to a warm place to sleep, being clean, not having to worry about what he’s going to do the next night. A tear slipped from his eyes and down his cheek, the salt stinging his cuts on the way down. Jughead snapped back into reality as someone wiped the tear away gently, fingers brushing his cheeks as though to cup his cheek before retracting. He looked up, directly into Sweet Pea’s eyes. They locked gazes for a short moment, interrupted only by Toni shoving Sweet Pea away to look at Jughead.

“Are you okay? She asked, her face concerned. 

“Yeah,” Jughead said, shaking it off. “Just...a little worried about where I’m going to live from now on.” He sighed deeply. 

“What do you mean?” Fangs asked, speaking for the first time.

“Well, Dad obviously doesn’t want me around and Mom doesn’t either. I guess it’s back to sleeping in benches and under bridges.” He laughed deprecatingly.

Fangs and Toni traded helpless looks.

“No,” a stern voice sounded from beside him. Sweet Pea. “You can stay with me, if you need to. I’m not letting you be homeless.”

Jughead looked at Sweet Pea, taking in the sincerity on his face. He was still covered in Jughead’s drying blood, his hair windswept and his eyes dark. His bruises knuckles were a deep purple, but Jughead knew that his dad’s face would be much worse. It was in moments like this that Jughead realised just how deeply he cared for Sweet Pea, and how he knew it would never be reciprocated. 

Unbeknownst to him, Sweet Pea was taking the opportunity to study Jughead. Even with his numerous injuries, he was still...

His knuckles twinged slightly as a bang on the door interrupted his thoughts. Immediately after, a drunk figure stumbled in through the doorway. FP.

FP stood in the doorway, eyes fixated on Jughead, who was looking right back. For a moment, Sweet Pea was hopeful that maybe FP had come to his senses, before he turned to look at him.

Sweet Pea and FP studied each other for a moment, before FP advanced in a quick step and grabbed Sweet Pea by the scruff of his neck and shoved him against a wall. 

“You really think you can get away with this?” FP yelled. “The Serpents won’t allow this!”

“The Serpents don’t follow you! Jughead is our leader, and you’re just a drunk.” Sweet Pea snarled. FP’s grip tightened momentarily before he was pulled backwards.

Jughead stood behind him, looking like hell with one hand bracing himself and another grabbing FP’s collar to pull him from Sweet Pea. A solid hit was landed on FP’s face, courtesy of Sweet Pea. 

And with that, Jughead fell in a dead faint. Sweet Pea bolted to catch him, gripping his shoulders and shaking him. “Jughead?”

Toni and Fangs helped him support Jughead as they dragged him to the couch to lie him down.

“Idiot should never have moved,” Sweet Pea grumbled as he lay a blanket over him and sat down beside his head. He stroked his hair gently, careful not to aggrevate his injuries. 

“He’s always been self-sacrificing,” Toni sighed. 

“When he wakes up, I’ll take him to mine. Give him a chance to heal. I should probably let his Northsider friends know.”

-

“Have you guys seen Jughead?” Berry asked and she checked her phone for the fifth time that morning, to no avail.

“No. I haven’t heard from him either.” Archie replied.

“I hope he’s okay at Southside High. I heard it’s really rough there. Gangs, drugs.” Veronica flipped her hair. She pursed he lips.

“Well, it’s not like he’s not already involved in gangs. He’s in the Serpents,” Archie said. “It doesn’t matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to convince him it’s a bad idea.”

“The Southside Serpents are nothing but trouble,” Betty said, sighing. She checked her phone once more, only for it to finally light up, her ringtone filling the room. “It’s Jughead!” She said, quickly answering to loudspeaker.

“Betty Cooper?” An unfamiliar voice said. Confused, the gang looked at each other. “Yes? Who is this? Why do you have Jughead’s phone?”

“My name’s Sweet Pea,” the voice said. “Jughead’s friend.”

“More like fellow gang member,” Archie muttered.

“Gang member and friend. I can be both.” Sweet Pea said, annoyed.

Betty shook her head. “You didn’t answer my question. Why do you have Jughead’s phone? What have you done to him?”

“Well, Blondie, a gang of Ghoulies got the jump on him. He’s at my trailer right now, resting. It’s bad. And don’t ever accuse me of hurting Jughead again, I would never!”

Betty scoffed, unbelieving. “I know what it took for Jughead to become part of the Serpents. You beat him up.”

An almost animalistic growl sounded through the tinny cell phone speaker. “I had to do that! Do you really think I wanted to? Jughead won’t be around for a while, if he wants to see you he’ll contact you. Oh, and some advice. Accept him being in the Serpents. Or you’ll lose him altogether.”

The call ended abruptly, leaving the room quiet. 

“Who are the Ghoulies?” Archie asked.

“From what Daddy told me, they’re some rival gang of the Serpents. They deal in hard drugs and violence,” Veronica answered. Her black hair shone in the light and she stood up, gauging her bag and books. “Ready to go?”

Betty didn’t stand. “But what about Jughead? We have to go see him!” 

“You heard what this Sweet Pea person said. Jughead will contact us. Besides, do you even know who this is let alone where he lives?” Veronica sighed. “I know you’re worried about him, Betty. Besides, having his ex-girlfriend there after he’s been beaten up is probably not going to do wonders for his fragile masculinity.”

“Oh, I don’t know guys,” Kevin said from beside Archie. “That Sweet Pea seemed rather protective of Jughead. I think he might have moved on.”

Betty was almost speechless. “To a Serpent? Called Sweet Pea?”

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say names can be deceiving?” Veronica said from the doorway, one arm bent to accommodate her designer handbag, the other holding a notebook and chemistry textbook. 

“We’ll go find him after school, okay Betty? I bet he’s fine.” Archie said, going to stand by Veronica and giving her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Veronica sang, before leaving in the opposite direction.

Betty remained on the couch, thinking over what Kevin had said. Was it really possibly that Jughead was in a relationship with this...this Sweet Pea? Surely not. She wasn’t conceited enough to think he still had feelings for her...but it had only been a few weeks. And the circumstances surrounding their break up...the black hood. She made up her mind, she would find Jughead after school, never mind what this Sweet Pea had said. Surely someone knows where to find him. 

“Kevin,” Betty said as they both got up in preparation for first bell. “You have...connections...in the Serpents, right? Can you find out where I can find Jughead?”

Kevin sighed as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “Betty, I love you, and I’d usually say yes, but I can’t. Joaquin told me vaguely about Sweet Pea, he’s violent. Dangerous. Protective.” 

“That’s all the more reason to find him! He could be in danger!” Betty looked at Kevin, betrayed. 

Kevin began to walk out of the room, briefly turning to reply to Betty. “The Serpents are his people, Betty. He’ll be fine.” 

Betty watched in dismay as Kevin left, obviously unconcerned about this dangerous Serpent who had access to Jughead in a vulnerable position. She’d do something. She just didn’t know what, just yet.

-

Sweet Pea hung up with a scowl on his face, placing Jughead’s phone on the bedside table. He had moved Jughead to his trailer after FP had made his rather ungraceful return. He wasn’t about to leave Jughead with FP while he was drunk, was he? 

Still, he almost regretted calling Jughead’s Northsider friends. He knew that things between him and Betty were over, and that Archie didn’t agree with his Serpent lifestyle. Jughead’s feud with Hiram Lodge was almost legendary; Jughead and Veronica had never been close. The only exception was the Keller kid, the one who had been shacking up with Joaquin before the Jason Blossom debacle. 

Jughead shifted a little and caught Sweet Pea’s attention. 

“Sweet Pea?” He asked. “Where am I?”

“My trailer. We didn’t want to leave you with FP. I called your Northsiders.” Sweet Pea sat down next to Jughead once he had sat up.

“They’re hardly my Northsiders. We don’t really talk any more.” Jughead winced at the tiniest movement.

“Yes, Andrews doesn’t seem to approve of you being in the Serpents.”

“I don’t need his approval,” Jughead scoffed.

“But you want it.”

Jughead sighed and shifted ever so slightly closer to Sweet Pea, almost imperceptibly. “What’s done is done.”

Sweet Pea looked over at Jughead, who appeared to be facing some difficulty keeping his head up. Sighing he nudged his head with his shoulder and slouched a little. Jughead, seemingly getting the memo, rested his head on Sweet Pea’s shoulder. They were just relaxing, comfortable in each other’s company until a loud bang on the door sounded before it immediately swung in. 

-

Betty stood in the doorway of the trailer, Archie and Veronica behind her. Jughead was on the bed in the living room, leaning against the shoulder of another man. He was obviously very tall, even sitting down. His black hair was styled messily, and splatters of brown dotted his skin. Two serpent jackets were tossed over the back of a chair just a few feet away. 

“You must be Sweet Pea,” Betty said, staring him directly in the eyes. Sweet Pea inclined his head ever so slightly, staring her down. 

“What’s a Northsider doing uninvited in Southsider territory?” He asked. 

Betty gulped, starting to get nervous. “Jughead is my boyfriend-“

“Ex,” a new voice chimed in. Jughead. “You broke up with me, remember.”

“Hey! You know why she had to do that!” Archie jumped in, defensive.

Jughead held up his hands in mock surrender, wincing slightly. 

“How did you even get this address?” Sweet Pea asked.

Betty raised her head. “Connections. I asked around.”

“Well now you know that I’m not killing Jughead, can you leave?” Sweet Pea asked, scowling. 

“No,” Veronica chipped in. “How do we know you’re not going to hurt him?”

“Besides the fact that he’s in my trailer resting against my shoulder?” Sweet Pea asked sarcastically. 

“That’s another thing,” Veronica said. “Kevin has his suspicions that you’re together. Are you?”

“That’s our business,” Jughead said before Sweet Pea could reply. 

“Tell Kevin hello,” Sweet Pea said. “Thank him for not coming on this little quest. Joaquin says hi. Now leave.” Sweet Pea raises an eyebrow and stared them down until they sheepishly turned and stalked out through the door, slamming it shut behind them. 

Once they’d left, Sweet Pea turned towards Jughead. “That’s our business?” He asked. 

Jughead turned his head slightly, looking Sweet Pea in the eyes. Time seemed to almost slow as Sweet Pea flicked his gaze to Jughead’s lips and back again. They leaned towards ever so slightly, already sitting close enough to meet lips easily. The kiss was short was sweet, their lips slotting together gently. 

When they pulled away they smiled softly at each other. A new chapter of their lives was born, and maybe just once the Ghoulies were helpful.


End file.
